Steve first encountered Systema via Martin Wheeler and soon came to love the challenge and freedom of the flowing movements and relaxed body positioning compared to the rigid forms of Karate which he was previously used to. When Mr. Wheeler left town, Steve sought part-time instruction under Vladimir Vasiliev at his school in Toronto. Over the last eight years Mr Beecroft has had the opportunity to experience Russian martial arts under such notable figures as Vladimir Vasiliev, Maxim Franz, Martin Wheeler and Oleg Taktarov [sambo]. Training in Ryabko Systema, Steve always felt there was an important aspect missing – namely, stress tested full speed drills and the cultivation of knowledge about how your opponent will realistically respond. In his own words:

"Ryabko Systema taught me the concept of ‘Познай себя’ - Know yourself. I felt there was still something missing in the training, but Kevin Secours’ views on Systemic movement and principles proved to be the missing piece that I had been looking for. Combat Systema still teaches the principle of ‘know yourself’ but ads the missing link; what I’ve come to refer to as: ‘Знай своего врага’ - Know your enemy".

Head instructor Steve Beecroft began his martial arts training at the age of five. He has studied Okinawan Shorin-Ryu for over eighteen years under Shihan Gary Legacy and is continually cross training in kickboxing, Sambo and combative self defense.

From 2007-2011, Steve ran an open martial arts studio called the Spiritual Martial Arts Center, where he hosted his Karate classes while developing a system of training simply called "Real World Martial Arts"; which incorporated practical stress-tested self-defense, survival skills and weapons training. During this time, he was contracted to teach this unique program at several institutions around London, including: